Results of DNA tests eagerly awaited to confirm identity of baby abandoned in Bushbuckridge

It has been a month since a DNA test was taken by the police to confirm if a woman is the mother of the baby who was found abandoned on a street in Bushbuckridge on March 7.

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A source close to the family said the woman is currently breastfeeding the baby. She had registered the baby at home affairs under her name while they are waiting for the test results.

“We have no doubt that it is her child, because she has been breastfeeding her since she was discharged from the hospital. The fact that we know that she was pregnant also confirms that she is the mother. We still do not understand why she abandoned her on the road. The good thing is that she showed some remorse for what she had done,” the source said.

A provincial police spokesperson, Brig Selvy Mohlala, said a woman had turned herself in to the Bushbuckridge police on March 7, claiming that she was the mother of the baby who had been found in the bush.

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“The police locked her up and charged her with child negligence. The woman is not off the hook yet. However, when she was taken to Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court on the same day for her appearance, the case was not enrolled and is pending investigation. The child was given to the mother of the suspect to look after the baby while they are still waiting for the DNA test results,” said Mohlala.

The provincial police commissioner, Lt Gen Semakaleng Manamela, has strongly condemned this incident, and made a call to society for moral regeneration.

“We believe it is paramount for families, traditional leaders and spiritual leaders to assist in restoring the moral fibre of our society,” she said.